BY: DR. PATRICIA TEDDLIE,
PROFESSOR AND CHAIR EMERITUS
The Department was formed
out of the Division of
Social Sciences in 1973.
The DSS contained History,
Political Science, Sociology
and Geography originally.
Somewhere about 1970
the History Division
broke off and formed
a separate Department
of History. This move
left Sociology, Political
Science and Geography
as the Division of Social
Sciences.
In 1973 the Division
of Social Sciences
was split into the
Department of Sociology
and Geography and the
Department of Political
Science. The first
chair of the Department
of Sociology and Geography
was Dr. Phillip Carey,
an African American.
The first chair of
Political Science was
Dr. Carolyn Zinn.
In 1976 the Department
of Sociology and Geography
which housed BA degrees
in Geography (since
the 1950s) and Sociology
(since the 1960s) applied
to the ADHE
for degrees in Criminology
and in Social Work.
Both these disciplines
were part of Sociology
at the time. All courses
in the department except
Geography bore the
SOC prefix. This prefix
also included courses
in Anthropology.
In 1976 the department
petitioned the ADHE
for an MA degree in
Sociology and it was
approved. That same
year the department
received LEAA money
to develop an AA degree
in Law Enforcement
and it too was approved.
This same year Sociology
was added to the disciplines
which participated
in the Specialist degree
in Community College
teaching. This degree
was administered by
the College of Education.
At this time Dr. Phillip
Carey resigned to take
a position in the private
sector and Dr. Jack
Dison was appointed
Chair. The department
now included the following
degrees : AA Law Enforcement,
BA Geography, Sociology,
Social Work and Criminology
and MA Sociology. Dr.
Jack Dison remained
as Chair from 1976
until 1983.
In 1979 the Social
Work program under
the direction of Al
Presley, LCSW, applied
for and received national
accreditation from
the Council on Social
Work Education. The
accreditation was retroactive
to Fall 1978. This
accreditation was the
first for a public
institution in the
State of Arkansas.
Two private institutions
had been accredited
previously but no public
institutions had received
the designation. The
name Social Work was
added to the department
name at this time making
it the Department of
Sociology, Social Work
and Geography.
During this period
of time the Department
of Sociology and Geography
was housed in the College
of Liberal Arts of
the University. In
1983 the College of
Liberal Arts was combined
with the College of
Science and Mathematics
to form the larger
College of Arts and
Sciences.
In 1983 Dr. Larry Clowers
was appointed department
Chair. He served until
July 1, 1993 when Dr.
Patricia Freudiger
was appointed Acting
Chair. The following
year Dr. Freudiger
was appointed Chair.
She served until July
1, 2000. During her
initial period of administration
she acted on recommendations
from a 1992 review
by the State of Arkansas
which suggested that
the BA in Criminology
was not adequately
publicized and consequently
suffered from lower
enrollment than it
should. Acting on the
Review Committee's
recommendations Dr.
Freudiger asked that
the department name
be changed to Department
of Criminology, Sociology,
Social Work and Geography.
Her reasoning for putting
Criminology first was
to draw attention to
this underserved program.
She also requested
the CRIM designation
for courses which were
obviously criminology,
e.g., Juvenile Delinquency.
Under the direction
of Drs. Dison and Salinger
and Mr. Golden the
Criminology curriculum
was revised and integrated
seamlessly with the
AA Law Enforcement
degree.
Dr. Freudiger requested
that all Anthropology
courses receive the
ANTH prefix to distinguish
them from Sociology
courses. The decision
to place Criminology
first in the departmental
name was not without
controversy and has
been questioned since
that time. Undergraduate
Sociology courses form
the backbone of the
department's student
semester credit hours.
On July 1, 2000 Dr.
Freudiger returned
to faculty status and
Dr. George Lord became
department chair. Dr.
Lord served from July
1, 2000 to July 1,
2003. During Dr. Lord's
tenure as chair a Center
for Social Research
was established. The
facilities were shared
with Political Science
but were housed in
the Department of Criminology,
Sociology, Social Work
and Geography where
they remain today.
The University announced
in 2002 that the College
of Arts and Sciences
was being returned
to its previous status
as two separate colleges.
There would be a College
of Humanities and Social
Sciences and a College
of Science and Mathematics.
Naturally the department
was part of the College
of Humanities and Social
Sciences. At this time
the Social Work division
was invited to become
part of the College
of Nursing and Health
Professions. The Social
Work program had grown
into a large program
with over 200 majors,
five full-time faculty
and four adjunct faculty.
It had a sizeable contract
to train workers for
the Division of Children
and Family Services.
When the split of the
College of Arts and
Sciences occurred the
Department of Social
Work was formed with
Dr. Charles Joiner
as its founding chair.
It was housed in the
College of Nursing
and Health Professions.
In July 2003 Dr. George
Lord resigned as Chair
and returned to faculty
status. He subsequently
left the university
to take an administrative
position at another
university. At this
time Dr. Patricia Teddlie
(formerly Dr. Patricia
Freudiger) was appointed
Interim Chair. In 2004
she was appointed Chair
of the reorganized
Department of Criminology,
Sociology and Geography.
She served until her
retirement on July
1, 2006. During her
second period of administration
the Criminology program
applied for and was
approved for a Master
of Criminal Justice
degree in 2006. The
program accepted its
first students in the
Fall of 2006.
|
